How A Comedian Used Twitter To Create The Ultimate Demonstration Of Political Partisanship

Matt Binder’s Twitter bio describes him as an “internet comedian,” producer at the liberal podcast Majority Report, and “finder of dumb tweets.” Binder spent much of Wednesday using his skill for digging up old Twitter posts to re-tweet a stream of messages that were an incredible demonstration of how partisanship can define the way people see the world around them.

Binder found tweets from people whose opinions of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl completely reversed after President Barack Obama made a controversial deal to have him freed in exchange for five prisoners from Guantanamo Bay last weekend. Initially, many of the Twitter users uncovered by Binder criticised the White House for not having managed to get Bergdahl released. In the wake of the swap, those same users blasted Obama for exchanging Bergdahl for the prisoners.

“Obama its time to bring Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl home he’s been a Taliban prisoner for 4 years,” wrote Daniels in 2012. “Rescue him.”

Daniels changed his tune in a message posted Tuesday.

“Obama can trade five of the most dangerous men in the world for a soldier who may be a deserter,” he wrote.

Obama’s deal to free Bergdahl has been criticised by those who point to allegations Bergdahl was a deserter and others who are concerned the president did not notify Congress ahead of releasing the Guantanamo Bay prisoners as required by law. Binder’s Twitter project doesn’t necessarily address these concerns, however, by showing people whose opinions of Bergdahl seemed to change solely based on their opinions of the president, he created an incredible illustration of the power of partisanship in American discourse.